Inspiration!

Who inspires me to change? I have to say, I don't know that I have an answer for this one. Perhaps my reasoning is a little convoluted, but I'm hoping that by being able to change my own behavior, I can inspire some people who are very important to me: my dad and my brother.

My father has been a smoker since he was a teenager. He quit for a few years, but recently started up again. And my brother started smoking late in high school (he's 19 now). I've been trying to get them to quit forever. And I've always resented the fact that they say it's too difficult. Isn't anything possible if you have the will to do it? With this project, I'm learning how difficult it is to actually change habits...and I'm not battling a nicotine addiction.

I'm hoping that if I can show my dad and brother that I can let go of my vice, they will feel more empowered and try to let go of their vice. I've researched a million option, including drugs like Zyban, that help with nicotine addiction, but I feel like I've more of a right to by insistent if I've demonstrated that behavior change is possible.

I'd also like to add that I went to Starbucks today. I had a hot chocolate. I never thought those two sentences would be juxtaposed in anything I wrote. Such a rock star right now!

Chai!!

I've been really good this week. I had coffee once Monday (9am Environmental Epi = Garima in a coma), and then not again until Saturday night (it was cold and we were watching a chick flick, coffee was comforting). And the reason is that I'm rediscovering really amazing Indian Chai!

You see, you can make Indian style tea (black tea) in two different ways. One is what we call the "British people way", and the other is real authentic Indian Chai. The British ppl way is when you boil water and let the tea infuse and add milk. It really only floats my boat if I'm in a hurry. But I find it's just not satisfying...and I ultimately crave coffee.

So, I'm going to give you my secret recipe to make the most amazing cup of Indian tea ever! And brown ppl don't measure things, so its sort of a surprise every time. Shhh...don't tell anyone!

1. Boil water in a saucepan (like 1 cup per person)
2. When you start to see bubbles add loose leaf tea (black tea), cardamom (cardamom powder is best, but you can just open the clove and leave it too), and sugar to taste.
3. Let the tea & cardamom boil with the water, you can turn down the heat too. Wait like 3-4 minutes to really get the flavor in.
4. Add milk (the amount depends on how watery you like ur tea, I decide by looking at the color of the tea, see picture)
5. Wait until the tea boils again with the milk added before you turn off the stove. Enjoy!

As you can tell, I don't know anything about recipes or cooking or kitchens...so i hope what you get at the end of this process is something to the effect of authentic indian chai.

3 Barriers to Change

1). School: I have early morning class 4 days a week, and I'm NOT a morning person. Waking up is the most difficult process in my life. And if you think I'm joking, talk to my family. I don't actually know what 6am looks like (unless I've been up from the night before).

2). Headaches: I have a physiological addiction to caffeine, and if I am erratic with my coffee consumption, I get really bad headaches. With the amount of school I've packed into my day, there is no way I can risk being debilitated by a headache and not get my work done.

3). My Future Profession: At this point in my life, I can realistically sleep 6-7 hours a night and make it through the day without caffeine. I choose not to, and that's what I'm trying to modify right now. However, I plan on being a physician, and I know sleep will become somewhat of a luxury as I go from medical school to rotations to residency and on call nights. Even if I do manage to quit coffee this semester, I wonder if I will simply relapse once I start medical school. Is it even worth the effort to quit right now?